On the other side of the table, employers are finding the recipe more difficult to follow when seeking top performers, especially if the company is missing an ingredient or two — like awesome culture. With attractive and flexible career alternatives popping up every day, the best talent is being lured away left and right, putting pressure on hiring managers to not only find but also hold onto their most impactful employees.

Execs’ perspective differs from in-the-trenches staff

New research from Jazz’s 2015 Hiring Outlook Report finds that there’s a disconnect between the C-suite and manager-level staff when it comes to attracting and retaining the best employees. 90% of C-level leaders believe their companies are ready to hire top performers, while only 70% of mid-level leaders believe the same.

Despite the disconnect, both sides do see eye to eye when it comes to one fact: candidates are in the driver’s seat. According to the research, 67% of company respondents — from the C-suite to HR and department heads — have a "whatever it takes" attitude about landing the best candidates.

Go bold or go home

However, the discrepancies crop up when it comes to competing in the war for talent. While a strong majority agrees there is such a war, they don’t necessarily agree on how to win it. Survey results reveal that, to compete, executives are willing to make bold (read: bolder) moves than their managerial counterparts to recruit the best candidates.

Here are three key findings:

Poaching isn’t off limits: 60% of C-level executives and 47% of HR/recruiting managers would poach from the competition.

Title inflation could be a thing: 32% of executives and HR/recruiting managers would allow a candidate to customize their job title once hired, as would 49% of C-level executives.

Desperate measures may indicate desperate times: 39% of C-level executives and 25% of HR/recruiting managers would post a fake job review on a review site to boost rankings.

Image: Jazz

Execs will go the extra mile for employee satisfaction, too

While execs may be especially willing to do what it takes to attract the best talent, recruiting is just one battle. The war wages on another front: retention. The fight to retain those top performers is just as heated.

C-level executives are also more open than their colleagues to adopting unconventional policies that can increase employee satisfaction. Across the board, they’re more willing to be in favor of perks like four-day work weeks and unlimited PTO than managers.

Image: Jazz

Companies fighting in today’s talent war, especially the leaders in the executive suite, live in a winner-takes-all marketplace. Smart employers know that if they want to win the battle and the war, they have to up the ante.

How does your company address the war on talent? Tell us in the comments.

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Jillian is an San Francisco-based writer and editor specializing in recruiting, hiring, and company culture. She handles all things content at Jazz.co, the first Performance Recruiting platform. Follow her on Twitter @One_inaJillian.

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